We are not planning on getting to the port until around 12:15 or so to try and beat the busses from WDW. I have no desire to be in the rush of crowds that get on and I really don't feel like schlepping bags for too long waiting to get to my stateroom. That is just me.

With the new boarding procedures, we plan on not getting there until around noon/1pm. In the past we've gotten there as soon as they've let us in. Now I'm not in too much of a hurry because I won't have to (hopefully) run around for reservations.

We got to the port about 10:15 am before it even opened and parked ourselves right at the gate. For me the vacation really begins once we get on the ship and I want to get onboard as soon as possible! We were among the first to board at 11:45 am and it was great. Since we check most of our luggage and only carry on a couple of small bags it's no hardship not being able to get to our room until 1:30 pm. My goal is to be the first on and the last off! I want to have as much time aboard as I possibly can.

In September we had a shuttle that left at 11:00 am. We were there before the gates were opened. It was so much fun waiting on the gates to be opened and being one of the first into the terminal. This was before they had the numbered embarkment. We were literally the 3 and 4 person on the ship. It was grand!